


A Second Chance

by Sailornils



Category: Persona 3, Persona 4
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, M/M, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-28
Updated: 2017-11-28
Packaged: 2019-02-07 22:45:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 6,304
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12851124
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sailornils/pseuds/Sailornils
Summary: Minato wakes up 2 years after the defeat and sealing of Nyx. Though he's in Inaba instead of Port Island with shadows apparently causing problems yet again. He thought the mystery and intrigue was over, but now here he is being sucked into a story of disappearances and murder. Not how he thought his last year of school would go.





	1. Chapter 1

As he woke up, Minato was aware that he was on a school roof with his head in someone’s lap. Much like the way he fell asleep. However, he could tell that this was not the Gekkoukan High school roof. The scenery past the fencing was totally different. Another thing, he noted, was that whoever’s lap he was resting on, it wasn’t Aigis, whom he remembered falling asleep on. The quiet whirr from her machinery was completely absent.

Slowly, he turned his attention away from the scenery and up to whoever he was laying on. “....Ryoji?” He said quietly, blinking slowly up at the other boy. Ryoji smiled and brushed his fingers through Minato’s hair.

“Good morning. Or afternoon, I suppose.” Ryoji was about to say something else when another voice interrupted.

“You’ve been asleep for quite some time, dear guest.” Minato frowned a bit and turned again, spotting Elizabeth standing in front of him and Ryoji. “It’s been about two years since you were last on this earth.”

Panicking slightly, Minato sat up. “The seal…!”

“The seal’s taken care of.” Ryoji said with a small laugh and pulled him to lay back down. “You’ve gotten a second chance on life, I suppose.”

Elizabeth laughed quietly behind her hand and nodded. “Quite Right. You have been acting as Nyx’s seal for the past two years, dear guest. And now you are free and able to live your life!”

Minato’s brow furrowed as he glanced between the two. It seemed like both of them knew something he didn’t. “Where are we? This isn’t Port Island.” He had other questions. Question about the Seal, the Dark Hour, and the lack of buzzing from his personas. Orpheus was still there under the surface and he could feel Thanatos there as well (though very faintly) but the rest were missing.

“We are currently at Yasogami High School in Inaba. Since you became the seal, your power of the wild card was given up. The new guest of the velvet room is here.” Elizabeth explain with a smile. Ryoji’s fingers had started running through Minato’s hair gently.

The blue-haired boy squinted at the attendant. “Does that mean shadows are a problem again? But I thought…” He moved his attention back to Ryoji who simply smiled.

“This has nothing to do with Nyx. I promise.”

Ryoji’s words were reassuring. Minato relaxed a bit and nodded. “So...no end of the world this time?” He hoped that was the case. His sacrifice with Nyx was bad enough, he didn’t want anyone else to go through that.

Ryoji shrugged. “I wouldn’t say that but the circumstances are different.” The black haired boy was about to say something else when Elizabeth cut him off.

“It seems we are running out of time. You will be truly waking up soon. I promise you will see us again but we must go for now.” Ryoji carded his hand through Minato’s hair a few more times before carefully sliding out from under his head. “I couldn’t find any permanent accommodations, so you are staying at the Amagi Inn for now. Enjoy your time here, dear guest.” Elizabeth bowed and opened the familiar blue door behind her. She walked through quickly and Ryoji moved to follow her. But he paused.

“You may want to think about getting a new phone and calling your sister. I think her number is the same.” Minato smiled at the other and nodded, he could feel himself being dragged out of this strange waking sleep by voices.

“Thank you, Ryoji. I’ll see you again?” Ryoji blinked at him then grinned and nodded.

“Full moons, Minato. I’ll be Pharos again. But not really. That’s all the power I can spend to stay in this world.” Minato nodded again, his eyes drifting shut. “Goodbye, Minato. Be safe.”

That was the last thing he heard before he was being shaken awake.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> a more real slightly painful awakening

The next time Minato woke up it was to someone shaking him and his head hitting a stone bench rather roughly. With a groan, he reached up and felt the spot that had definitely hit stone more than once.

“Oh thank god you aren’t dead.” A clearly distressed voice said from somewhere to his right.

“I told you he wasn’t, Chie! Probably has a headache from all that shaking, though.” Another, much more annoyed, voice came from his left. Slowly, Minato cracked his eyes open, wincing slightly at the sunlight.

He glanced at the two, a boy and a girl. The boys hair was obviously dyed with the roots coming in and headphones around his neck. The girl, Chie?, was shooting the boy an irritated look.

“....Who…?” Minato squinted at them before attempting to sit up. He managed with a little help from both.

“The names Yosuke. Yosuke Hanamura.” The boy said with a wink. “The one who was slamming your head on the bench is Chie Satonaka. You’re the new transfer student, I’m guessing.” Minato looked between them then down at himself. He was still wearing the Gekkoukan uniform.

“...Yeah. Minato Arisato.” Minato barely blinked before agreeing, even though he very specifically didn’t remember being brought here or enrolling in the school. His only guess would be that it was Elizabeth’s work, as it didn’t sound like his sister knew he was back yet.

“There you are!” All three students jumped as an adult’s voice came from the roof stairs. The three turned, spotting one of the teachers and another student behind her. “I’ve been looking for you everywhere, Mr. Arisato. I can’t believe you just wandered off like that.” Minato just stared blankly at the lady. He definitely had never seen her. But she took his hand and started pulling him to the stairs. “We need to finish your tour and get your class assignment settled. Then you need to get your make up work.”

Suffice to say, Minato had no idea how to react other than just letting the teacher pull him along. As they reached the door to the stairwell, though, he turned a bit and waved to Yosuke and Chie. They were officially the first people he had met here, after all.

It didn’t take long to get his class sorted and for him to be sent off with a new school bag with new books and school work in it. His only problem now was the fact that he had no idea where the Amagi Inn was, and it looked like no one really wanted to help the new kid. With a sigh, he put his headphones over his ears and started his mp3 player. Frankly, he was glad he still had it considering he had appeared without his phone and his wallet completely empty aside from his old student ID card.

He was about to press play and drown out the confusion with music when he realized something. He’d heard of the Amagi Inn hadn't he? The name was certainly familiar. Some sort of trip had been to the Amagi Inn, right? A school trip? Maybe not his own. Minako’s then?

With a little frown, he clipped his headphones to his lapels again and wandered into a (nice smelling) restaurant. Stepping up to the counter, he asked the owner directions to the Amagi Inn. After some raised eyebrows and disbelief, Minato got his directions and headed off to see where he’d be staying for the next school year.


	3. Chapter 3

Once Minato had the direction, finding the Amagi Inn wasn’t difficult after all. The proprietress seemed to recognize him as well, and promptly showed him to his room when he said he wasn’t sure where it was. The fact that she didn’t question it made Minato question how people were beginning to see him. His sense of direction wasn’t terrible, and he honestly wished Elizabeth had given him more information.

“....So weird….” He muttered. Trying to figure out how exactly Elizabeth did it  
“..Guess I’ve seen weirder, though…Oh. A phone.” He settled his bag in his room and went back to the front. “Excuse me. Can I borrow your phone? I need to call my sister…”

The proprietress smile and nodded. “Of course, dear. And let me know if there’s anything else I can do for you.” She said as she showed him the phone. With a nod, he picked it up and dialed Minako’s cell number, which went straight to voicemail. With a sigh, he redialed the old Dorm lobby number.

It didn’t take long for someone to pick that phone up.

“Hello. Specialized Extracurricular Execution Squad dorms. This is Ken Amada.” Minato blinked and couldn’t answer for a moment then sighed out a little laugh.

“You sound older. But I guess it’s been two years…” A loud thunk sounded as soon as he finished speaking and he had to pull the receiver away from his ear. “....Ken? ...What was that?” He looked up and saw he was getting a look from Mrs. Amagi. He offered her a small smile and a shrug.

Minato turned his attention back to the phone when he heard it being picked up again. “Hey, whoever’s callin’ you freaked out the kid. What the hell do you want?” That was a voice he hadn’t heard in awhile. Of course, he was more than glad to hear it.

“Shinjiro-senpai. It’s...Minato Arisato.”

Honestly, he expected to hear the sound of the receiver being dropped again, but was glad when he didn’t. The initial silence was a little awkward but then he heard Shinji say something to Ken before talking to him again. “I didn’t think I’d be hearing your voice again. I heard what happened after that bastard Takaya shot me. That’s some crazy shit, Arisato.”

Minato nodded and, after realizing Shinji couldn’t hear a nod, sighed. “..Yeah...Didn’t think I’d be hearing your voice again. How is everyone?”

“They’re all doing pretty well for themselves. Everyone’s graduated. ‘Cept Ken. I’m keeping him company in the dorm for now--” Shinji was cut off, and Minato swore he heard high pitched bickering. And a dog bark. “Jig’s up, Arisato. Couldn’t save you from her lecture, sorry.”

Minato barely had time to say it was fine before the receiver had changed hands and Minako was shooting off questions at him faster than he could handle.

“...Minako. I became a door,” temporarily, “and sleeping for two years didn’t speed my processes up.” Actually, it may have slowed them down. If that were possible.

Minako took in a deep breath then let it out slowly. “It really is you...I thought Ken and Shinjiro were pulling my leg. But you’re here. And talking to me. You aren’t calling from the Velvet Room are you? Theo still does that sometimes.” He could hear her sniffle every so often between words.

“It’s me...Whole and awake. And in...Inaba? It was Elizabeth and Ryoji’s doing...Don’t ask me how because I have no idea…” He leaned against the front desk and closed his eyes. He could hear chattering behind Minako. Probably the rest of SEES (not that they were SEES anymore, huh?) Clamoring behind her.

“Leave it to those two.” Minako laughed and Minato had a feeling she was mirroring his actions subconsciously. They did that when they spoke on the phone. “Inaba, though. That’s pretty far...I think I went there on a training trip once.”

“I knew it sounded familiar...Apparently I’m staying here for now...going to school again,” He yawned, “According to the news, I’ve been in a coma for 2 years so I need to catch up to you.”

He could hear her laugh. Light and airy and so full of life. It made him glad that he had forced her to give him her half of the seal. “Tired already, brother? ...Call again, soon, okay? Everyone else will want to talk to you. Maybe we can have Mitsuru fly us all out there to see you.”

Minato had to smile. “That would be nice. I’ll call tomorrow. From the Amagi Inn phone. Mine’s gone.”

“It’s here. I’ll send it to you, okay? Good Night, Minato. I’m glad you’re back. I love you, brother.”

“Thanks. I’ll need it. Good Night, Minako. I love you, too.”

And with that, his first conversation with his sister in 2 years, ended with the click of a phone hanging up.


	4. Chapter 4

Waking up to an alarm the following morning was bizarre. Not as bizarre as some of the ways he’d been woken up in the past, mind you. But definitely different. He was used to hearing Aigis speaking to him or Minako prodding him awake. Not the blaring of an alarm that he didn’t remember setting.  
A knock on the door reminded him of where he was and he got up groggily to slide it open.  
“Good morning!” A girl wearing the uniform of the school he was going to was standing outside. “You go to Yasogami, right? Since you’re new, I figured I’d show you there today. You better hurry and get ready or we’ll be late.” With that she scurried off, leaving Minato to blink blearily after her.  
Slowly, his brain still sleep addled, he pulled on his old school uniform. Squinting at it in the mirror in the room, he realized what was wrong and dug around for Yasogami’s uniform, frowning when he didn’t find one. He would have to ask the teacher later. Grabbing his bag and mp3 player, he headed out to hopefully meet his guide.  
He was halfway down the hall when he realized how similar this was to his first night at the SEES dorms. Yukari had woken him up to take him to school that morning. A stinging pain in his chest made him realize how much he missed his old dormmates and friends.  
Shaking his head, Minato continued to the front door. It was a lot more crowded now than it had been the night before. Spotting his apparent guide, he wandered over. She looked rather flustered and like she definitely wasn’t going to be heading to school.  
“I’m so sorry. I would walk you there but it looks like I have to stay here and help out today.” She said as he walked over to her. Grabbing a piece of paper from behind the front desk, she quickly scribbled on it and handed it to him. “Here. It’s not the best map, but it should help you get to the school okay.” Minato took it with a slight nod.  
“Thanks….Uh...Good luck.” With that, he left. Though he felt a bit bad that he couldn’t stay and help, he didn’t work there. He was technically a temporary guest. Who was being ambushed himself by a guy with a microphone asking something about some murder or other. A quick shake of his head and a ‘I have no idea excuse me.’ had him shuffling off soon enough, hoping the camera wasn’t following him.  
Getting to school from there wasn’t super difficult, though he wished he’d had someone to talk to on the way. His phone needed to hurry and get here from Port Island.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 5 will be finished and up soon. I actually have to replay p4 for this fic and have work so I haven't been able to play yet. Thank you all for being so patient.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long. Life got in the way.

School was….boring. He didn’t know what he expected. A school in a different place didn’t change how interesting a curriculum was. Minato was a little disappointed to see the kids from yesterday weren’t in his class, but he spotted them in the hall later and was able to realize he was their upperclassman.

He was asked plenty of questions by other kids. Mostly about his uniform (he had to wait for his new one,) why he was a 3rd year when he was a year older than them all (he told them he slept for 2 years,) and had he heard of the murders that had happened (he hadn’t and would look it up later, thanks.) He was finally able to escape after putting his headphones on and hurrying out after the final bell rang.

Or he’d hoped he would’ve scurried away except he was stopped for a little while by a teacher. Once he got the rest of his things sorted and recieved a new uniform, he really headed out.

He was about halfway back whem he was stopped near Junes by one Chie Satonaka.

“Hey, I wanted to apologize for yesterday. Waking you up like that wasn’t very nice.” She rubbed the back of her neck a little awkwardly.

“....’s fine.” Minato waved her off. “I’ve been woken up worse ways.”

She brightened at that and started walking with him. “You’re staying at the Amagi Inn, right? Mind if I walk with you? My friend Yukiko is the daughter of the owner so I was gonna pay her a visit anyway. You can tell me about the ways you’ve been woken up.”

Minato shrugged and said he didn’t mind. And off they set, Minato talking about the ways he’d been woken up by Aigis, Koromaru, his sister, and Junpei on occasion. He left out Aigis’s robotic nature and his first night dealing with shadows. Neither were things Chie needed to know.

They reached the inn before long and Minato’s throat had gone sore. He hadn’t been one to speak much before becoming the Seal and then couldn’t speak at all for two years. And as Chie headed to the front desk he rubbed his neck, wincing a bit at the soreness.

\-------

It wasn’t until a couple of days later that something changed. First, his phone arrived from Port Island. And then he heard a strange rumor about a world inside a television. He texted Minako about it, wondering if Theodore had said anything about it. She hadn’t, so he brushed it off as a weird rumor and went back to his life of attempting to fit in. Which was rather difficult as the new kid was the most exciting thing that happened in Inaba, it seemed.

When he returned to the inn that day, everything seemed rather normal. He’d gotten another package from Port Island with his evoker and S.E.E.S. armband, as well as a button and a welcome to the Shadow Operatives note. 

He strapped his evoker to his waist and stared at himself in the mirror in his room for a moment. It was strange but not an unwelcome sight. Minato was about to start reading the note about the Shadow Operatives when someone knocked on his door. With a small sigh, he pushed himself to his feet and pulled it open. Only to be faced with a large television. He stared at it in confusion for a moment before he felt himself being shoved. Straight into it.

Certain he was going to crash, Minato braced himself for an impact. And it came in the form of the ground, not a tv.


	6. Chapter 6

Once hitting the ground, Minato seriously didn’t want to get up. It hadn’t particularly hurt, and he’d had worse falls in Tartarus, but then he heard the sound of someone muttering and crying. With a groan, he pulled himself to his feet and looked around.

It was incredibly foggy was his first observation. Not one that was hard to miss. Taking a few steps closer to the sound of a person, he could see that the area he was in looked like the top of Tartarus, complete with the glowing green moon above it.

“What in the world….?” Minato muttered, then drew his attention to the person in front of him. They were clutching a familiar yellow scarf, and if it hadn’t been for the hairstyle, Minato would have mistaken them for Ryoji. Instead, he stared at the other in a daze before speaking. “....Me? …..Well this is new.”

The other him looked up when he spoke, staring at him with red-rimmed, yellow eyes. “It’s my fault he’s gone. And Minako’s alone now. I left her alone and now everyone’s gone on without me.”

With a frown, Minato stepped closer and sat down near the other him. “...Is that right…? Tell me more about it. I’ve got all day, it seems.”

The other him (a shadow maybe? He hadn't heard about a shadow with this ability before,) sniffed and clutched the scarf (it was definitely Ryoji’s) closer to him. “They’ve gone on without me. All grown up and living their own lives. I haven’t even finished high school yet now. I wonder if they forgot about me while I was working as the seal, I bet they did. They didn’t have to worry about it anymore so why should they bother remembering it existed?”

“....That’s a good point.” Minato had thought, briefly about that, after he’d called the dorms that first day. Everyone but Ken was graduated now and working some job or other. It was strange to think about.

Minato didn’t know how long he spent in that place, listening to the other him talk about being left behind and forgotten. He talked about Ryoji as well and how he couldn’t stand that they’d had to kill him. Eventually, the fog started to lift a bit and the other him let out an anguished cry.

Startled, Minato jumped to his feet and pulled out his evoker. Then, four sets of footsteps came clattering up the stairs.

“Holy crap! It’s the new kid!” The kid with the headphones, Yosuke was it?, sounded amazed and surprised.

“I told you it was when we saw him on the Midnight Channel, ya dummy!” Chie lightly kicked Yosuke in the shin and stepped closer to Minato. Out of the corner of his eye, Minato could see the other him pull away, the edges of him blurring.

The third human in the group (their fourth member was some sort of bear,) stepped forward. “You seem to be doing okay.” Minato shrugged and put his evoker away.

“Haven’t been doing much. The real Tartarus is way worse…..” Minato glanced at the other him behind him then looked back at the silver-haired boy. “So mind explaining some things to me? Like what’s going on?”

That got a bit of a laugh (though an exhausted one) out of the boy. “I’ll explain in full later, right now we have to deal with your shadow.”

“.....My shadow. Didn’t know people could have shadows…” It was a good thing his first reaction hadn’t been to fight it, clearly.

“You know about shadows already? That’ll make it easier to explain what we know, then. Basically, all you need to do is accept it as part of you. Then we can get out of here.”

“....Accept it….” Minato turned and regarded his shadow for a moment. Then slowly stepped over to it and knelt down. “.....You’re the feelings I’ve been pushing away since I woke up, huh….Sorry I made you wait.” He held out his hand. “It’ll be okay, though. I’ll talk to Minako about it.”

The shadow regarded him for a moment, then slowly uncurled. “I didn’t want to bother her about it. I still don’t.”

“I know…...But at least we’ll be doing it together…” He looked at the scarf in the other’s hands. “....I miss him, too...Maybe we should get a scarf like that...to make sure he’s not forgotten either.”

The shadow looked at the cloth in his hands then nodded and reached out. Gently, he and Minato clasped hands and the shadow disappeared. Minato closed his eyes and sighed. “Welcome back, Thanatos.”

Slowly, he rose from his kneeling position and yawned. “.....Alright. Let’s get out of here. I wanna sleep in my own bed.” Well, his own temporary bed.

The group that had come for him looked stunned, but the silver-haired boy nodded (he seemed to be the leader) and started to head back. Minato and the other two in tow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not the great confrontation y'all were probably hoping for. But I don't think minato's the type to necessarily deny what he's feeling, he just doesn't say it outloud.


	7. Chapter 7

When they returned to Inaba (through a TV in Junes no less,) Minato found himself exhausted. He stumbled as they started to leave and yawned widely.

“Oooh yeah. We probably should’ve warned you about that.” Yosuke piped up, steadying Minato with an arm around his shoulders and a hand at his elbow.

Minato opened his mouth to object when he felt another arm around his waist and his weight being supported on his other side. He blinked and looked over to where the leader of the small group was supporting him. “Let’s get you home.”

“He’s staying at Yukiko’s inn, you guys. And getting her back yesterday was hard enough.” Chie chimed in. Minato found he didn't have the energy to look at her. “And he looks dead on his feet.”

Yosuke and the other boy looked at each other over Minato’s head and seemed to have a silent conversation with each other. Finally, the silver haired one shifted Minato a bit to adjust his weight. “He can stay at my place for the night, then. I don’t fancy a walk to the inn. And Dojima won’t mind.”

Minato’s jaw cracked with another yawn that had Yosuke wincing. “Should introduce yourself before inviting someone to your room, you know.” He muttered. This exhaustion was almost reminiscent of spending too long in Tartarus. Part of him wondered if he would be getting a visit from Pharos tonight.

The leader laughed. “Probably. I’m Yu Narukami. Nice to meet you.”

“Minato Arisato.” He said simply.

“Not much for talking, huh, Arisato-senpai?” Yu asked, adjusting his hold on Minato carefully as they walked.

Minato shook his head. “‘Specially when ‘m tired….How long were we in there?”

“You were in there for a couple of weeks. I’m surprised you aren’t asleep right now, actually. You didn’t seem surprised when we mentioned shadows.”

Minato waved a hand and shrugged as well as he could. “Discuss that later. Sleep now.” He muttered and let his eyes shut. He felt rather than heard Yu laugh and say something to Yosuke. Then next thing he knew, he was lifted off his feet and his head was resting on a shoulder.

Sleep was a good idea….


	8. Chapter 8

Minato woke in an unfamiliar room on a futon on the floor. He could hear the faint sounds of someone talking just outside the bedroom door but couldn’t make out what they were saying. Sitting up, he realized he was in clothes a couple of sizes too big for him, but comfortable and cozy.

Glancing around, he spotted his mp3 player and headphones on a nearby table. He pulled himself to his feet and was grabbing it as the door opened and Yu walked in, a plate of food in his hand.

“Hey, you’re awake. I didn’t expect you up so soon. According to Chie, Yukiko’s still asleep.” The younger boy walked over and set the plate down. A couple of pancakes topped with a small amount of syrup sat on it looking rather delicious. “How are you feeling, Arisato-senpai?”

“...” Minato stared at him for a moment before shrugging. “The same as always. Also, call me Minato. Being called senpai is weird...and pass that onto the other two, as well.” 

Yu nodded. “Got it. That’s for you, by the way. My cousin helped me make them.” Minato nodded and pulled the plate closer, tearing the pancakes gently with his fork. They were pretty good. Maybe not as good as Shinjiro’s but still pretty good.

He could feel Yu watching him for a moment before the younger boy spoke up again. “So. Last night you said discussions later when we asked about the shadows. Well, it’s later…”

Minato sighed and popped another piece of pancake in his mouth before speaking. “Do you know about a place called Tatsumi Port Island? Iwatodai?” He waited as Yu thought for a moment before nodding.

“A couple of years ago there was some sort of epidemic there, right?”

Minato nodded. “Apathy Syndrome. Shadows caused it all. A handful of students from Gekkoukan formed the Specialized Extracurricular Execution Squad, or S.E.E.S. for short. It was just me and 7 others...we had the ‘potential’ which just meant we could summon Persona under the right circumstances…..” He paused to eat some more and let his throat rest. It ached from talking so much.

“So you guys fought shadows to combat Apathy Syndrome. But you seemed surprised about the T.V. world. Did you fight them somewhere else back then?” At least Yu was willing to fill some of the silence.

A nod was Minato’s response. “Tartarus. And the Dark Hour…” He shoved the last piece of his pancakes in his mouth and yawned after swallowing. “Mitsuru-senpai can explain it all better….And she’ll probably show up when she knows what happened….”

“Go ahead and go back to sleep if you’re still tired. Yosuke will probably be over when you wake up again, just so you know.” Minato nodded and laid back down, sighing quietly as a blanket was pulled up over his shoulders once more. Yu certainly was nice, wasn’t he.

\-----------  
When he opened his eyes next, Ryoji was sitting next to him, playing with what looked like a folded paper fortune. The ones kids used to make. “....I thought you could only come as Pharos….” Minato murmured.

That drew Ryoji’s attention to him. It was nice to see him smiling. “I’m using a bit of your power, sorry. I wanted to see you so badly.” He continued to play with the paper fortune without looking.

Minato snorted and reached out a hand to grab the edge of the boys scarf. “‘S okay. I’m used to being tired….” He stared at Ryoji for a moment, earning a curious head tilt from the other.

“What is it, Minato?” Ryoji’s hands stilled.

Minato could only stare at him for another few seconds, trying to get his throat to work past the sudden heat of tears in his eyes. “I miss you….I hate that we had to kill you in the end. I wish you were still around.” He gripped the scarf tighter and tugged at it, trying to pull Ryoji closer. All it really did was pull the scarf off of him.

Ryoji gave him a sad look. “I miss you too. But you know I’m always with you. As Thanatos. And you know I don’t blame you for any of it.” The boy leaned down and pressed his forehead to Minato’s. “I love you, Minato Arisato. Please live your life for both of us. It’s what you told Minako to do when you took over as the Seal. And it’s what your fortune says will happen now.”  
\----------

Ryoji’s voice faded out as Minato woke up, and other voices took over. Slowly, Minato finished pulling himself out of the realm of sleep, blinking away the leftover tears in his eyes and wiping his face. Sitting up, he noticed Yosuke had now joined Yu, and they were looking at him now. His brow furrowed as they stared at him with what looked like confusion on their faces. “...What?”

Yosuke was the first one to speak up. “Dude. Where’d you get the scarf?” Minato frowned in confusion and looked down at his lap. His hand was clenched around the fabric of that familiar yellow scarf.

“I…..But that was a dream….”

“An extremely real dream, then…” Yu commented, looking intrigued. Minato shrugged and carefully wound the scarf around his neck, mimicking the way Ryoji wore it. “We were talking about your dungeon in the Midnight Channel. The T.V. world.”  
Yosuke nodded and leaned forward more on the table, crossing his arms. “Well, mostly we were talking about the way you dealt with it.” He sat up a little straighter when Yu shot him a look. “What? No point in being delicate when he already has an idea about what’s going on.” Minato watched at Yu rolled his eyes and turned his attention back to him.

“Sorry about him. Tact isn’t really one of Yosuke’s strong suits.” Even as he said it, though, he was smiling. His grin only widened at Yosuke’s exclamation of ‘Dude!’ Minato couldn’t help a small laugh, hiding his little smile in the fabric of the scarf. “But he’s right. I know you said someone...ah...Mitsuru? Could explain more. And Yosuke stopped by the Amagi Inn and grabbed your phone. So we were hoping….” They wanted more of an explanation. He could do that.

Minato nodded. “Explanation….Right. The only things I can really explain are...The evoker.” He pointed to it, having noticed it on the table between the two. Out of its holster now and looking a little unnerving sitting there by itself. “Back when SEES fought the shadows….. we used the evoker to summon our personas. Something about outside stimulus being needed…..And Thanatos….Thanatos was...one...of my personas back then.”

“One of them?” Yu sat up a little straighter that time. Minato nodded, blinking as a small blue butterfly flew in through the window and circled the silver-haired boy’s head a couple of times before settling on Minato’s evoker. Neither of the other boys seemed to notice it.

Slowly, Minato nodded. “You have it too. The power of the wild card. You can summon multiple personas.” Yu nodded slowly and Yosuke reached over to shake his friend gently.

“Dude! That’s awesome!” He turned to Minato with a smile. “We knew he had multiple. But we didn’t know that had a name!” Minato shrugged. If it was the same as himself, Yu’d had that power since the first time he summoned a persona. He didn’t doubt Yu could also access the Velvet Room, but he would ask about that later when it was just the two of them.

“That’s about all I can tell you….I can call Mitsuru-senpai, though and she can explain more….if you want.” Once his phone was handed off to him, and he got confirmations from both of the other boys, he dialed the number. Putting it on speaker, it rang a few times before Misturu picked up.

“Arisato. It’s good to hear from you. Though I’m surprised I’m the first one you called after we hadn’t heard anything for two weeks. You have your sister worried.” Minato winced and set the phone on the table between the three of them.

“I’ll give her a call after this….Mitsuru-senpai….the shadows are back, but it isn’t the Dark Hour. It’s something else….I have a couple of kids here who have been fighting them for a bit and….They were looking for answers. Ones I thought you could give better than I could….” Mitsuru listened patiently as he got the words out, well acquainted with his stilted way of speaking. She was silent for a moment after he finished then let out a sigh.

“I suppose I can explain, though I don’t know how relevant it will be.” And with that she launched into her explanation. It took up the better part of the afternoon, with questions from both Yu and Yosuke. She wound down after the fight with Nyx. “As for what happened after that….You’ll have to ask Arisato for more details. Only he and his sister really know what happened after Nyx was defeated. The only thing I know is that Tartarus, Nyx, and Arisato disappeared. We thought he was dead until he called the dorms back when he first arrived in Inaba.”

Yosuke and Yu gave him startled looks at that. His cover story of a coma completely blasted out of the water. They didn’t get a chance to speak up before Mitsuru started talking again. “I worries me that Shadows have popped up again, even if it is under completely different circumstances. Arisato, as a member of the Shadow Operatives and a former member of SEES, it’s your objective to keep an eye on the situation and report back to me. I expect weekly reports to me or Minako,” Minato was sure she just wanted to make sure he would keep in contact, “and if you three decide you need help, don’t hesitate to let us know. I can send someone to Inaba in a moment’s notice.”

“Right.” Yu and Yosuke said together. Having an adult who knew what was happening seemed to relieve them a little bit. Minato’s mouth quirked up at that realization.

Mitsuru sighed on the other end of the phone. “I wish I could send someone now to just take care of it all, but it sounds like you’re all working on it. I wish you luck, boys. Don’t forget to call Minako, Arisato. Oh, and just call me Mitsuru. I think we’re past ‘senpai’ by now.”

“Thank you, Mitsuru….I’ll keep in touch.” He hung up the phone as Mitsuru gave her goodbye and looked at the other two. “So that’s that….”

Yosuke sat back on his hands and heaved a sigh. “That’s a lot to take in. Are we getting in over our heads?”

“Even if we do, it’s nice to know there’s an entire organization behind us if we need them.” Yu looked as relaxed as he had looked the entire time, if not a little more so. “We have tomorrow off of school, if you guys want to spend the night again.” He stood and stretched then headed to the door. “We can talk about it over dinner.” With that, the other two stood and followed him downstairs where they (meaning Yu and Nanako who Minato finally met) got to work making dinner. Minato’s impression of the food didn’t change. Not as good at Shinji’s but pretty good regardless.

Dinner finished and dishes done, the boys sat down with Nanako while she watched her gameshow (Yu was the best at it) before she went to bed and they piled back upstairs. Quiet chats about Yu and Minato settling in to life in Inaba wound them down for the day and before they knew it, all three of them were fast asleep.


End file.
